Connect with Members

Connecting with your fellow LSA members and other linguists is key to advancing your career goals. The LSA offers ample opportunities for you to make these connections in person and through a variety of other channels, to share research findings, academic interests and concerns, and to build or sustain a professional portfolio that qualifies you as a valued member of the linguistics community.

Take advantage of the approximately 1,000 dedicated and focused linguistics professionals and students who attend the LSA's Annual Meetings, held in major U.S. cities during the first Thursday through Sunday in January. The Meeting features ample opportunities to connect in person with others who share your scholarly and professional interests, to learn from the cutting-edge research presented at the meeting, and to socialize with your fellow attendees. Connect at the Annual Meeting by:

Presenting an organized session, paper, or poster. Calls for abstracts are disseminated during the spring preceding the Meeting.

Participating in a meeting of one of the LSA's Committees and SIGs. Take advantage of the opportunity to meet and collaborate with your fellow committee members face-to-face!

Dropping in on an "office hour" sponsored by the NSF, the Endangered Language Fund, a future Linguistic Institute, etc..

Visiting the Exhibit Hall, where you can meet representatives from major academic publishers and other linguistics-related organizations, and enjoy complimentary coffee and tea.

Relaxing -- if you are a student -- in the Student Lounge, where you may take advantage of one-on-one tutorials with experts on CV preparation, webpage design and more. Complimentary snacks and wi-fi are provided.

Attending the student forum held on Friday evening, a panel discussion of an issue of major importance to students, such as getting published, presenting at a conference, getting hired, etc.

Touring the poster sessions. Presenter-attended plenary poster sessions are held on Friday and Saturday mornings from 10:30 to 12:00 noon, and posters are available for viewing all day each day.

Mingling with other students at the student mixer, held on Friday night following the student forum. Enjoy complimentary beverages courtesy of the LSA.

Enjoying hors d'oeuvres and beverages at the Presidential Reception, held on Saturday night following the Presidential Address.

The LSA sponsors biennial Linguistic Institutes, which draw hundreds of scholars, professionals, and students from throughout the field and around the world for a month-long series of courses, special lectures, workshops, colloquia, conferences, and social activities. Held in odd-numbered summers on major university campuses, the Institutes offer a career-changing experience for individuals and defining moments for the field. Take advantage of the Institutes' rich program of intellectual and social activities to cement your place in the linguistics community.

Attend the Institute as a student. Take advantage of the unique opportunities for academic and professional development afforded by the Institute experience. An LSA-administered fellowship competition gives dozens of students the opportunity to participate in the Institute tuition-free.

Teach a class at the Institute. A call for course proposals is normally issued during the year preceding the Institute. Rarely will you encounter such focused and motivated students.

Present a workshop or organize a conference. Take advantage of this unique concentration of linguists with similar interests.

Explore local highlights with other Institute participants in outings organized by the Institute directors.

The LSA is proud to co-sponsor CoLang, the Institute on Collaborative Language Research (formerly InField). CoLang 2014, which will occur in June and July 2014, is hosted by The University of Texas at Arlington, with Dr. Colleen Fitzgerald as Director. CoLang 2014 is funded by a National Science Foundation grant, BCS#263939 and by various units at UT Arlington. The theme of CoLang 2014 is Native American languages, but participants and instructors from countries all over the world are expected to attend. The institute consists of two parts: the Workshops - two weeks of intensive workshops on practices, principals and models of language documentation and revitalization, followed by a four-week field methods course, working with speakers of select indigenous languages applying hands-on techniques in language documentation.

Attend CoLang as a student. Students who enroll in the field training attend the preceding workshops, thereby receiving an intensive course in documentary best practices before putting these skills to use.

Propose a workshop to be held as part of CoLang. The Call for Workshop Proposals is available here.

The LSA also offers its members multiple opportunities to connect with each other throughout the year.

Join one of the LSA''s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) or Committees to work on a variety of projects with other LSA members sharing your interests and concerns. Committee members have access to a members-only "organic groups" page where they may exchange messages or post documents of interest to other members. They also have access to a dedicated committee email listserv. Many committees hold meetings via teleconference as well.

Search for and contact others sharing your academic affiliation, research interests, or expertise in a language or language family via the LSA Membership Directory .

Donate your own books to linguists in need, or request a book, through the LSA's Book Exchange.

Propose yourself or another member for our Member Spotlight section, which highlights the contributions of a different LSA member -- a student or a professional linguist in academia, government, or industry -- each month.

Finally, the LSA encouragees you to join with like-minded colleagues to have a voice in the field, whether through the workings of the LSA itself or by assisting the Society in its advocacy work with other scientists, the news media, the general public, and governmental and grant-giving organizations.

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The mission of the LSA is to advance the scientific study of language. The LSA aspires to a world in which the essential nature of language and its central role in human life is well understood. » Read more about us